Steep It Loose

By Shayna Harris for Forbes    The tea market is experiencing unprecedented shifts in supply and demand due to COVID-19. “What COVID has done is accelerate our existing plans to grow out of grocery and into e-commerce. But we are more concerned now than ever about our inventory,” says Raj Vable, CEO of Young Mountain Tea. Vable sources directly from tea estates in India and Nepal. “Due to our direct-trade model, we have information on what is happening at the tea estates and can monitor the situation closely in a way that others with longer supply chains aren’t able to.”  Vable...

By Maria Uspenski for Tea & Coffee Trade Journal    In this age of the novel coronavirus and a strong focus on wellness, adaptogenic teas are a welcome trend and an opportunity for tea businesses of all kinds, from retailers to beverage manufacturers. In fact, the industry is seeing more adaptogenic tea blends on the market as consumers seek natural substances to reduce stress, provide a sense of calm and reap a variety of health benefits. Adaptogens are natural, botanical substances and include Tulsi Holy Basil, ashwagandha, rhodiola and maca – or more common adaptogens such as turmeric and ginger...

  There are many lovely tea establishments in Paris, even way more chic than the many romantic sidewalk cafés on every block. Choosing to take tea in Paris is considered to be a very upscale move, as opposed to how it’s viewed in London, where tea in the afternoon is what’s expected. Anything the Parisians set out to make classy, they make very, very classy. It’s just natural in the city of lights. Tea and over the top pastries are astonishingly over-the-top here, where culinary endeavors are taken most seriously. It also shows in the tea. You’d be hard-pressed to...

  Japan is one of the two most significant traditional green tea regions in the world, alongside China. The methods by which green teas are grown, harvested and processed in these two cultures are very different. Some Japanese green teas are shaded during part of their growing season, which increases the chlorophyll content in their leaves, and gives them a deeper green color. Because they contain more chlorophyll than any other tea type, they are hailed as a favorite for cleansing and purification. Japanese green teas are steam dried, so there’s nothing evoking charcoal or fire in their flavor, in...